More Than Just Friends
by ArmchairRamblings
Summary: James and Remus come to see Sirius as a little brother and having discovered just how bad his home life is, they begin to take an active role in his life as care-givers. During school break, James and Remus try to make James' father understand their situation.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, that world and all its characters belongs solely to J.K Rowling.**

Charles stared at his son in disbelief, before turning his gaze onto the other two boys that were currently occupying his kitchen. Remus met his gaze evenly, seeming unperturbed. Sirius on the other hand had his eyes fixed firmly on the ground, it appeared as though he would rather be anywhere else than here right now.

'James, if this is some sort of joke...' Charles began in warning, turning back to his son.

'It's not Dad' James assured with an almost sympathetic look at his father 'we would hardly joke about something like this'.

Charles sighed and ran a hand over his face 'If only you were' he muttered.

Sirius visibly flinched slightly at that, and it did not go unnoticed by either James or Remus who shared a look with each other before James turned to address his friend. 'Sirius, why don't you go on up to my room while we talk things over down here' he suggested.

'It's me you're going to be talking about' Sirius replied moodily, glancing up at James quickly before again focusing on the kitchen floor.

'I know, but I think Mr Potter wants to talk to me and James about some of it privately' Remus reasoned calmly 'and it's only fair we allow him to'.

'Go on up Sirius' James urges when he still hasn't moved. Sirius turns to go, stopping in the doorway to look shoot a questioning look at both James and Remus in turn. Remus smiles at him calmly and James nods his head in encouragement. At this Sirius finally leaves the room and they are all silent as they listen to his footsteps on the stairs, following the sound until it ends with the closing of a bedroom door.

'Look Dad, I know this is weird' James begins, hoping to somehow explain their current situation.

'You're damn right it's weird' Charles interrupted forcefully 'You're telling me that you've adopted a son, who is the same age as you' he repeated incredulously.

'We've not adopted him' James said with a sigh.

'But you think of him like one' Charles returned, staring hard at his son.

'Well no, not quite, it's more of an older brother/younger brother kind of thing' James tried to explain 'older brothers who occasionally tell him off and make him go to bed, so yeah sort of like very parental, older brothers'. Charles raised an eyebrow at his son's piss poor attempt at an explanation.

'It's my fault Sir, it's because of what I am' Remus admitted, sounding somewhat apologetic.

'You're not a what Remus Lupin!' James immediately retorts 'and it's not your fault, it just happened' he adds, softening his tone.

'How did it happen exactly, how is that Sirius suddenly goes from best friend to son?' Charles questions, still not believing the conversation he was having. He's still not ruling out the possibility that this is all some big prank of his son's making.

'Well you see Dad, Sirius' family don't exactly treat him how they should, and so we've always watched out for him' James tries to explain.

'The wolf in me recognised Sirius as pack, if you will, and saw in him a vulnerability and a need for someone to look after him and so for the wolf that translates to cub' Remus continued 'and with James and I together, those feelings got forced onto him'.

'But we were already pretty protective of Sirius anyway' James adds and Remus smiles and nods 'We were', he agreed.

'It all came to a head this year really and certain...events occurred that meant we had to take a more active role in Sirius' life or he would end up hurting himself or others' the tight expression on Remus' face and the strange look in his eyes as he said this made Charles aware that there was definitely an interesting story there. Whether he actually wanted to be privy to this information, he wasn't entirely sure. He was pretty certain he wouldn't like what he would hear.

'And it doesn't matter that he is the same age as you both?' Charles presses, trying to remain with the issue at hand.

'No, the wolf doesn't really take things like that into account' Remus replies with a wry smile.

'Okay, fine, I understand all that, but how are you boys going to deal with this?' Charles asks.

'Well, it's like we said Dad, we'll look out for Sirius and make sure he's doing alright...' James tried to explain.

'Yes but you said before that you've always done that anyways' Charles interrupted 'but the way you were talking earlier sounded more like you were going to be parents to him'.

He watched as they shared a look with one another 'In a way we will be' James answered 'since his actual parents clearly don't give a damn, he needs someone to care about him and in case you weren't already aware Dad, Sirius has a bit of problem with authority figures'.

'Do you even understand what that means?' Charles asked in frustration, only being able to focus on what his son had just admitted.

James frowned at that 'of course we do, we've been practically parenting Sirius for ages anyways' he retorted.

'James it's not as easy as you think, you'll have to be strict with him on things that friends don't usually even consider' Charles tried to get it through to his son just how different the dynamics of their friendship would be.

'Dad, we know that' James insisted 'Believe me; we know it's a huge change'.

Charles gave his son a searching look 'and what about Sirius?' he inquired, eager to know how the rebellious teen was taking all this.

'Well, he was outraged at first and adamant that he was having no part in any of this' Remus answered with an amused smile, recalling that particular conversation.

James caught the smile and returned it with one of his own 'but more than anything Sirius wants a family, he wants to belong somewhere' James explained to his father 'and although he might not admit it, he loves having someone look out for him and care about him'.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, that world and all its characters belong solely to J.K Rowling.**

Chapter 2

Charles was left reeling from the news his son had broken to him earlier in the day. In the few hours that had passed since the conversation, he had been turning it over and over in his mind and he still couldn't make heads or tails of it all. He knew he was missing something important, some key detail, in the events that led up to what was now apparently happening in his son's life. He scanned his memory for anything that his son had mentioned in his letters home that could provide a clue. All he could come up with was some sort of prank that had gone wrong (James had never divulged the details and since the school hadn't contacted him, Charles had felt no need to press for more information). Oh, and he remembered that around the same time, James had said something about Sirius being ill. Charles frowned to himself. Had Sirius illness had something to do with all this? What had even been wrong with him? And did it have anything to do with the ill-fated prank, whatever that was. These were the questions still swirling in Charles' mind as he left his study and headed to the kitchen for a much needed cup of tea. His head was pounding thanks to his son's revelation.

He still couldn't quite see how this whole situation was going to work, but James was adamant about doing this and Charles knew it was best to just let his son do as he wanted and hope that nothing too bad came out of it. His stubborn, brash boy, he thought affectionately.

He decided to stop by James' room to see if the boys wanted to join him in a cuppa. Remus had already left for his own home, saying that he needed to spend some time with his parents. Charles has almost asked whether or not they were aware that they had gained a grandson but had soon thought better of it. Thinking back on the moment now, he remembered that a strange look had come over Sirius' face when Remus had announced that he was going to be leaving. Charles couldn't quite put his finger on it, but the teen had looked unsettled in some way by it. He hadn't really noticed at the time because Remus had immediately pulled him into a goodbye hug, promising to return the next day. He recalled how Sirius had seemed reluctant to let go of the older teen, following close by his side as Remus had made his way to the floo.

Charles pushed his thoughts aside for the moment as he approached his son's room. The door had been left open somewhat and Charles heard Sirius' voice come from within.

'Its fine, I don't mind honest' Sirius insisted, although there was something odd about his voice when he said it and this made Charles stop in his tracks. His first instinct was to avoid eavesdropping; Merlin knows he had scolded his son on the topic more times than he could count. However, he was still confused about the entire situation and was quite intrigued to observe the pair while they were alone. Well, it was his house, his rules, he could damn well do as he pleased, he thought to himself as he crept closer.

'Don't be silly, you're not going anywhere Sirius' he heard James reply in a firm voice. It was a tone which he had never heard from his son before. Charles was surprised to realise he had sounded quite parental.

'But I'm just making things difficult between you and your Dad, I don't want to do that' Sirius said, sounding rather upset at the prospect and Charles felt a twinge of guilt at that, he hadn't meant to make things difficult, it's just that the whole concept was kind of hard to swallow.

'Hey now, you're not making anything difficult Siri' James assured and Charles could hear movement so he moved forward silently so he could see through the open door into the room. He watched as his son gently carded his fingers through Sirius' hair in a gesture so tender it took him completely by surprise.

'Dad's just shocked by all this, and I mean who can blame him' James joked. Sirius smiled slightly at that and leaned in a bit closer. 'He just needs time to process it all and then it'll be fine, so no more talk of leaving alright?' James finished with a sterner note in his voice.

Sirius nodded his head in agreement and James pulled him in for a hug. Charles watched as Sirius pressed himself in closer to James, seeking the comfort being offered. 'It'll all work out' James reassured before pressing a kiss to the side of Sirius' head.

Charles walked away quietly completely forgetting about his offer of tea. His mind was whirling with what he'd just seen. What he'd just witnessed would definitely suggest more than mere friendship between the two teens. Maybe he had underestimated the strength of these instincts that his son and Remus had been talking about.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, that world and all its characters belong solely to J.K Rowling.**

Chapter 3

The next morning at breakfast, Charles kept a close eye on the interactions between his son and Sirius as he sat at the kitchen table. At the moment Sirius was sat at the table, like himself, whilst James was bustling around putting things on the table and making tea for them all. James had offered to cook breakfast this morning; an act which Charles was sure was supposed to butter him up after the recent revelation. Not that he was arguing, his son happened to be a quite a dab hand in the kitchen.

When Sirius had appeared in the kitchen doorway about 10 minutes ago, he had stood rather nervously, shooting slightly anxious looks at James and himself. James had immediately brightened at Sirius' arrival and ushered him into a seat before making up a plate of the delicious breakfast food and placing it in front of the younger teen, then going off to put the kettle on. Charles noticed however, that Sirius had yet to touch any of the food on his plate and he vaguely wondered if it wasn't to the boy's taste. He was about to inquire into such when James suddenly spoke before he could.

'Sirius, make a start on your breakfast before it goes cold' his son ordered gently, as he set out the mugs for the tea.

Charles watched as Sirius glanced down at his plate before replying quietly with an 'I'm not really hungry'.

Charles heard James let out a small sigh 'You can't skip a meal Sirius, it's not healthy' he informed the younger teen. Sirius gave no indication that he'd heard what James had said.

'Eat your breakfast please Sirius' James ordered in a firmer tone, now watching Sirius more carefully.

Charles was confused, not just at James' orders but at Sirius' obvious discomfort over eating, he had never known the boy to have any issues with food.

'It's too much' Sirius said in what Charles thought was very nearly a whine and he watched on interestingly as his son's eyebrows shot up at Sirius exclamation.

'Sirius, I am very well aware of how much you can and cannot eat. And I know you are more than capable of managing what I put in front of you, so eat it now please', James finished with a definite sterner note in his voice as he levelled Sirius with a matching firm look.

Sirius squirmed a bit under the gaze but clearly wasn't ready to give up the fight. 'I don't want it', he replied with a scowl.

James stopped in the action of pouring the tea and turned back to Sirius with a frown 'Excuse me? You need to eat Sirius, that's not something that's up for discussion, not unless you want to go back onto the nutrient potions' James informed him sternly 'Do you want that? To have to take those potions 5 times a day again?' he pressed for an answer.

'No' Sirius replied sullenly, avoiding James' gaze.

'I thought not' James retorted 'you are not going to be moving from that table until you've finished your breakfast Sirius, even if I have to stick you to the chair, understand?'

Sirius seemed to finally give in and nodded his head. 'Sirius' James said in warning and was rewarded with a meek yes in reply. 'Eat up then' James ordered, going back to pouring the tea.

Charles watched from the corner of his eye as Sirius finally picked up his fork and began eating. The man was trying hard to keep his face neutral after witnessing the scene; he could not believe what had just happened. His Jamie had acted like a parent, and a damn good one at that! He never would have thought his son would be in this position at such a young age and handle it so well. And more than that, Sirius seemed to respond to the parental nurturing of his friend, something which surprised the man to no end. He was fond of Sirius, had been from the moment he had met the boisterous youth, but this was a side to him he'd never seen before. More and more Charles was starting to see what James and Remus had been trying to explain to him.

He thanked James as his son handed him his tea and then watched as Sirius did the same. James placed the mug down by Sirius' plate with a small smile and then bent to press a kiss to the top of his head before moving off again.

A few moments later they heard the floo flare and then Remus appeared in the kitchen wishing them all a good morning. Charles watched as James immediately moved to give Remus a quick, chaste kiss before gesturing for him to take a seat.

'Any problems?' he heard Remus quietly inquire of his son.

'Just the usual reluctance' James supplied in answer. The knowing look on Remus' face as he glanced quickly at Sirius made it quite clear to Charles that Remus was aware of what had taken place this morning, so this had to be a regular occurrence for them.

'Do you want anything to eat? Tea?' James asked as Remus moved towards the table.

'Just tea please love. I ate at my parents' Remus answered with a smile as James nodded and went to fix him a cup. Remus took the seat by Sirius and ruffled his hair in greeting 'morning pup' he said with a smile.

'Morning' Sirius replied, smiling back and nudging his shoulder into Remus gently.

As James passed Remus his tea, Charles decided to speak up 'I take it then that we should re-decorate one of the spare room's to Sirius' tastes. After all we can't have my pseudo-grandson sleeping in a guest room now can we?' Charles enquired teasingly, grinning when all three heads snapped around to look at him. The mischievous look on his face was the same one his son usually wore.

James rushed to hug him, thanking him for understanding and accepting and Charles returned the hug, kissing his son's messy head and assuring him that he would do anything for him. Although Charles was still hesitant about the entire thing, it was obvious to him that it would be happening whether he liked it or not and he had to admit that judging by what he had seen so far, there was obviously something about the set up between the three that worked and apparently had been working for quite some time.

Sirius simply stared at the man in shock, not knowing quite how to take his sudden easy acceptance. He was not aware of the conversation going on around him until he felt a nudge against his shoulder. He jumped out of his trance and turned questioningly to Remus 'James is talking to you' he informed with a nod in James' direction.

'Oh sorry, what?' Sirius asked, now turning to James.

'Would you like more tea pup?' James repeated with a soft smile, holding out the teapot.

'Yeah' Sirius replied, to which James nodded and re-filled his mug. Sirius was still awed by the fact that Mr Potter had suddenly and so easily accepted their unusual relationship. He was not certain he trusted it. After all, the man had only last night been raising many doubts and concerns. Sirius only had the experiences of the Black family to guide him in his thoughts and he knew that such a sudden change of feeling within his own family would mean an underlying motive or scheme, one that usually Sirius would not like. These thoughts were racing through Sirius' mind as he reached for his tea with shaking hands. None of the others noticed as they were too busy happily thanking Charles for being so open. The happy chatter came to a standstill however when there was the sudden noise of something breaking.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, that world and all its characters belong solely to J.K Rowling.**

Chapter 4

Due to the shaking in his hands Sirius couldn't keep a firm hold of his mug and it had slipped out of his grip, crashed onto the table, sending tea and broken pieces of ceramic all over the place. The other three all snapped their gazes up to Sirius who looked back at them wide-eyed. A physical change seemed to pass over Sirius. Not only was Charles confused to see fear in the boy's eyes but he noticed the tremors that were now racking the slender body. He watched as Sirius quickly lowered his gaze and hunched down as though trying to make himself smaller and less noticeable. Charles was baffled by the teen's behaviour, never had he seen Sirius look so vulnerable. He had no idea what had caused such a reaction, he had just opened his mouth to express concern when James and Remus both jumped into action, beating him to the punch.

'Sirius its al...' James began to speak.

'I'm sorry, I...I didn't mean too' Sirius quickly apologised as soon as he'd heard himself being addressed. Charles did not miss Sirius' shaking hands, or the fact that he was trying to conceal it by placing one in the grip of the other and holding them tightly. But all Charles could do was stare at the scene unfolding in front of him in shock.

'Shhh, pup, it was an accident' Remus soothed, reaching a hand out to rub Sirius' back. He noticed that Sirius flinched away from his touch but ignored it 'nothing to worry about'.

Sirius still trembled and continued to stammer out more frantic apologies. 'It's all easily fixed love' James assured, waving his wand to quickly clean up the spill 'see it's not a problem Sirius' he said with a smile. Sirius didn't seem to be convinced though.

'Sirius, it's alright, just calm down' Remus soothed, still rubbing Sirius' back. 'No-one here is going to hurt you' he assured.

Charles jolted at that comment and stared at Remus in shock 'Hurt him?' he questioned incredulously, not noticing the way that Sirius flinched and seemed to curl into himself at his words 'What do you mean hurt him?'.

James tried to calm his father down when he seen how his reaction was only making Sirius worse 'Dad, please, I'll explain but just leave it for now' he pleaded over Sirius' continual apologies.

'I will not leave it' Charles insisted firmly, continuing to watch as Remus and James tried to settle the still trembling boy. When Sirius let out what sounded dangerously close to being a whimper, Remus and James locked gazes and appeared to have a completely silent conversation resulting in a nod from James.

Remus then placed his arms around Sirius and pulled him into his chest 'Shhh, Sirius, it's alright' Remus murmured soothingly 'why don't we go outside and get some air, hmm, give you a minute or two to calm down?' Sirius nodded his head against Remus' chest. 'Alright then pup' Remus replied before beginning to move them.

At this, Sirius tightened his grip on Remus' shirt and pressed closer. 'Easy Sirius, I'm not going anywhere without you love' he quickly reassured. 'Come on now pup, up you come' he gently urged as he himself stood up and Sirius dutifully followed with him, not releasing his hold on Remus' shirt front.

As Remus began to manoeuvre them out, Sirius did finally let out a small whimper of fear. Remus was quick to react, bending to press a kiss to the top of the silky head 'Hush, hush now, we're just stepping out for a few minutes so you can calm down alright' he murmured as they left.

James had silently watched them leave, a frown of concern on his face. 'What in the name of Merlin was that about?' Charles demanded. James sighed and took a seat at the table 'Dad, there are a few things you don't know about Sirius...' he began to explain.

Charles felt physically sick after hearing his son's explanation about Sirius' upbringing. He'd always known that the Blacks were a dark bunch, one of the darkest families in the wizarding world. However, he'd never have thought that they would treat one of their own like that, especially their heir. Weren't they meant to be all about the bloodline? Sirius was their blood and yet to do those things to your own child. Charles couldn't fathom it.

'How did you find out?' he asked, gazing at his son who had had a permanent frown on his face during the entire explanation.

'We just finally put two and two together really' James admitted 'I mean, over the years we'd always known he didn't get on with his family. You wouldn't believe the things his mother would say in her letters, Dad. He hated when it was time to leave Hogwarts for home, he would get so moody and distant and the when he came back from home he was always quiet. He'd be tired and he'd look a bit ill, his appetite wasn't the same' James trailed off, thinking back to all the signs that had been there from the very start.

'We did try and ask him about his home, but he never wanted to talk about it and if we questioned something he always ready with an explanation' James informed his father 'And Sirius is a fantastic liar Dad, he really is, and most of the time he has a mask to cover how he's really feeling inside. But when he came back after this summer, he was worse than usual. He could hardly move without wincing in pain. I hate myself for not pushing harder earlier, for finding out just how bad things had gotten' James hissed out, cursing himself. Charles placed a hand over his son's clenched fist and tenderly stroked a thumb across the back of James' hand to soothe him.

'We were in the common room late one night and Sirius was trying to finish his homework. He was struggling to even write because his hands were shaking so bad. Remus just snapped Dad, he couldn't stand seeing Sirius like that anymore and he grabbed the quill from Sirius' hand then sat down next to him and just said 'dictate' ' James smiled slightly, remembering the look on Sirius' face as he'd stared at Remus who had held the quill poised over the parchment ready for instruction.

'When they'd finished Remus and I pushed for answers. Sirius was so stubborn, but we didn't quit and eventually he just...he just broke Dad' James confessed 'I'd never seen Sirius cry before, not ever, and then suddenly he was sobbing and it all came out. He told us that they'd used the cruciatus on him this time'. Charles paled at this. Those evil, sick bastards, he thought. It was bad enough to use an unforgivable, but on your own child. How could anybody do that?

'He's still recovering. Mentally more than physically now. Sometimes, something will trigger a bad reaction, like with the mug' James explained.

'Why haven't you told anyone? Charles questioned, thinking that should have been the first course of action.

'What can anyone do it about it? The Blacks are powerful, there's no way we'd be able to get their heir taken from them. Besides, Sirius would never let anybody know about this. Look how long it took for him to finally tell us and that's only because we were constantly around him to see the signs'. Charles could see were his son was coming from, how could they go against the Blacks in this? Even if they did try, they would probably only make things even worse for Sirius.

'He's vulnerable Dad' James said softly 'He doesn't usually let people see it, but he is'.

James turned his head to look out of the large window into the back garden and Charles followed his gaze. Remus was standing with his arms wrapped around Sirius; the younger teen had buried his head into the werewolf's chest. Charles could see that Remus was talking to Sirius while he rubbed a hand up and down the other's back. He switched his gaze to his son. James was watching the two figures in the garden with a worried expression. Charles felt a wave of affection for his son wash over him.

'He's got you and Remus now son' Charles reassured 'and all three of you have me'.


End file.
